Billy Ocean Biography

The recording artist known as Billy Ocean was born Leslie Sebastian Charles in 1950 in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago. Billy grew up in Essex, England, and as a child he was greatly influenced by his father, who was also a musician. As a teenager, Ocean frequented the clubs around London until he was discovered by a manager who saw his potential as a recording artist.

Billy Ocean recorded his self-titled debut album in 1976, featuring the song “Love Really Hurts Without You.” The single rose to the number two spot in the UK and into the top twenty on the US charts, paving the way for a career which has since lasted well into the new millennium. But while Ocean’s early years were successful, his biggest breakthrough came with the release of the album Suddenly, which arrived in 1984 and rose into the top twenty on multiple international charts. The album featured the breakthrough smash hit “Carribean Queen,” which was an international number one hit and earned Billy Ocean a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1985.

After Suddenly, Billy Ocean released a number of other successful albums, including: Love Zone (1986), Tear Down These Walls (1988), Time to Move On (1993), Emotions In Motion (2002), and Because I Love You (2009.) Additional hits include the songs: “Suddenly,” “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going,” “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry),” “Love Zone,” “Love is Forever,” and “Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car.”

In addition to his own hits, Billy Ocean has written a number of other songs for other artists, including: “Stay the Night” (LaToya Jackson); “Love Really Hurts Without You” (Bad Boys Blue); “Waiting for You” (Boyzone); “Whatever Turns You On” (The Dells); “Suddenly” (Marti Pellow); and “Who’s Gonna Rock You” (The Nolans.) Most recently, Billy Ocean released the album Here You Are, in 2013. Ocean continues to perform and record regularly, and recently made a cameo appearance in the film Keith Lemon: The Film, a UK comedy which featured Ocean portraying the title character’s father.